Human

I thought Madison was Halloween-crazy, but in retrospect, that was just the UW-Madison campus…  In Chicago, everywhere I go, there is talk and decoration in preparation for the upcoming holiday.  It is strange to me, the way that some of the shop windows have cute, cuddly-looking pumpkins and scarecrows, while others look like something from a horror movie.

These things remind me even more of the disparities between the safety here in my neighborhood and the very dangerous pieces of Halloween that haunt my students.  The clowns in overalls attacking children and teens, the scariness of walking to school and being shot at with frozen paintballs, or yolked with eggs.  Ah, Halloween.  A day of tricks and treats, for sure.

I hope my students stay safe, and that they come to school prepared to focus on the tasks at hand, instead of thinking too worriedly about the outside world.  That is a prayer of mine everyday, but more and more I am realizing how important of a prayer it is.

My role in helping my students to do that is definitely to keep my lessons engaging and new.  Short movie clips,  powerpoint presentations, art, hands-on work, and discussion have all proven to be effective for this.  I hope that I can continue to help them with staying focused so that their reading and writing skills improve over the course of the year!!!

Chicago Public Schools has a day off today, for teacher inservices.  We’re here.  So far, though, my classes have been less than half full today…  Wow.  My students’ attendance overall has been pretty good; out of my classes of 25-30 students, usually 20-25 are in class.  (The same is not true for the sophomores and juniors.)

I have often wondered if it is acceptable for me to almost hope that sometimes not all of my students are there, so that I can focus on teaching the students that really care and want to be there.  The general response I get when I voice that question aloud is always, “Sarah, of course it’s okay!  You are holding high expectations for the students who are in class!”  True.  But what does that say about my expectations for the students who aren’t as smart, motivated, or behaviorally adept?  Not a whole lot, as far as I can tell…

First off, suggestions on how to find the silver lining… Between sometimes negative staff departments, frustrated students, very long hours, not enough desks for my students, and a host of other daily distractions, it has been getting harder and harder to stay positive. Normally that’s not an issue for me, but lately it has been quite difficult. SO, any simple sayings, thoughts or images that can keep things with a sense of possibility would be awesome.

Secondly, I need some suggestions on fund-raisers. I want to provide some extrinsic rewards for my students (a trip to a college or pro basketball game for everyone who gets an A or B first semester and a trip to a Shakespeare theater second semester; gift cards to local spots; school supplies and books; etc.)… But I am at a loss for how to fundraise, especially since the money probably won’t come from my students’ parents or from them… Suggestions?

On a final note, today was rough. One of the students at our school (not my student) was shot in the back this past Friday, and he got out of the hospital this evening. There was some discussion about that at school today. I wanted to curl up and cry tonight, but I graded tests instead.